Is There A FUNeral in Your Future? (video)

Six men dressed in suits, aprons, and chef hats carry an over-sized barbecue pit to center stage. The room is decorated for a Texas style feast and celebration. But inside the pit is not a plump pig suitable for a large gathering. In-fact, it’s not a pit these men are carrying, but rather the remains of the late Willie McCoy. The setting is McCoy’s homegoing service, featured on TLC’s Best Funeral Ever.

McCoy’s name might not ring a bell, but his voice has been in our heads for 27 years as the deep baritone in Chili’s baby back ribs jingle. He sang the words “Bar-be-cue sauce” in the longest running commercial campaign in advertising history. In 2004, Ad Age named the jingle one of the “top 10 songs likely to get stuck in your head”. McCoy’s singing resume includes The Platters, The Drifters, The Coasters, and The Temptations (Richard Street’s assembly). But his part in the Chili’s hit was the singer’s shining, most lasting moment.

McCoy’s family approached Dallas-based Golden Gate Funeral Home seeking a homegoing like none other. Golden Gate specializes in customized theme services that capture an important aspect of the departed’s life. And true to form, Golden Gate delivered.

Is this our future? Putting the FUN into funerals? Imagine a deceased skydiver coming out of the sky at 10,000 feet. At least he or she would not have to worry about the parachute not opening! A deceased clergy could give their own silent eulogy!The possibilities are endless.

Is this a good idea or buffoonery?

Are we headed for a time when people will have to put in writing explicit instructions to be or not to be memorialized with a theme homegoing service?